LOVE THAT NEVER FADES
Chapter Six

A Miracle

Rose was sitting on her bed, eating the dinner that Annie had brought for her. It was now evening, and Ruth was sitting beside Rose, watching her daughter eat. Jack still hadn’t woken up, and Rose was beginning to get worried. She wondered if he would ever wake up. She kept checking up on him every few minutes to see if he had woken up, but all she saw was his chest rising and falling with every breath. Rose finally finished her dinner and set the tray on the table. She got off the bed and sat on Jack’s bed, holding his hand, waiting for him to open his eyes.

"Jack, if you can hear me, please wake up," Rose said, caressing his hand, which was now warm. "I don’t know what I’ll do if you don’t wake up soon. I love you, Jack. I always have." Rose tried to hold back her tears, but failed. "Oh, Jack, wake up soon. Or at least show me that you can hear me." She closed her eyes to stop the tears from flowing. But as she closed her eyes, she felt a squeeze on her hand. Rose opened her eyes and looked down at Jack’s hand, which was now squeezing her hand firmly. Rose looked up and saw Jack open his eyes, after a two day slumber. A smile appeared on Rose’s lips. "Jack?" Her voice sounded cheerful. She saw him move his head a few times before he looked at her.

"Rose?" Jack asked, his voice hoarse.

"Yes, Jack. It’s me," Rose said, holding Jack’s hand tightly. She saw that his breathing was now normal, and she saw him yawn.

"What day is it?" Jack asked, pushing off the blankets that were on him.

"The seventeenth. You slept for two days," Rose said. "You had me worried." Rose moved Jack’s blonde hair behind his ears. She saw him smile weakly.

"Ah…I told you I was a survivor, right?" Jack asked weakly. "You know I don’t lie." Rose smiled and kissed his hand.

"I love you, Jack," Rose said, tears glistening in her eyes. Jack smiled and squeezed her hand.

"I love you, too," Jack said for the first time. "I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. It’s just that--" Jack was cut off when Rose gently kissed him on the lips. Jack responded, and kissed her back with all the passion he had in him. Rose was the one to pull away.

"Don’t worry. I already knew." Rose smiled, holding onto Jack’s hand firmly. Just then, they were interrupted by Rose’s mother. Ruth stood beside Rose and smiled.

"Hello, Mr. Dawson." Ruth smiled. "I’m glad that you’re all right."

Jack was suddenly confused. Had he heard her right? Had Rose’s mother actually said that she was glad to see him alive? That was unlike the Ruth he had known aboard the Titanic. On the Titanic, Ruth had despised him and hadn’t wanted him near her daughter. He had been able to tell by the stares she always gave him. But now, she had changed into a nicer person. Had the sinking changed her? Had the sinking made her realize that she would’ve lost her daughter to him? Jack was confused, but relieved that Ruth wasn’t the first class lady who didn’t want him near her daughter.

"Thanks, Mrs. DeWitt Bukater," Jack said, smiling.

"Oh, please, call me Ruth." Ruth smiled.

"Okay, Ruth." Jack smiled. Just then, he felt her hug him, something that he had never expected from Ruth DeWitt Bukater. Hesitantly, he hugged her back, and smiled.

"I knew from the start that you were right for my daughter. I just never accepted it. But now…now I know that you’ll take care of her and make sure she’s safe," Ruth said. Jack smiled.

"I’ll do absolutely anything to make sure she’s safe. I love her. I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone as much as I love her, Ruth," Jack said.

"I know, Mr. Dawson…" Ruth began.

"Please, call me Jack," Jack said, smiling.

"I know, Jack." Ruth smiled, happy to know that Jack had forgiven her for what she done to him onboard the Titanic. "Jack, I’m sorry for the way I treated you before. I was just upset that we wouldn’t be rich anymore. I didn’t fully see that you were in love with my daughter until the first class dinner. I knew Rose loved you, since she didn’t want to get into a lifeboat and went to rescue you. And I’m terribly sorry for the way Mr. Hockley treated you. You didn’t deserve that, and I know it."

"It’s okay, Ruth. Honestly, I didn’t like that Hockley fellow. I knew when I first met him that he was a no good rich bastard," Jack said. "I just had to keep Rose from making the wrong decision, and the more I tried protecting her, the more I fell in love with her." Jack looked over at Rose with loving eyes. Rose smiled and caressed his hand lovingly. Ruth got up and smiled.

"I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be outside if you two need me," Ruth said, leaving the infirmary and going out on deck, leaving Jack and Rose their privacy.

Rose watched her mother go, but then returned her attention to Jack, who was looking at her with loving eyes. She smiled and kissed his hand once more. He put his hand over hers and kissed her hand, as well. Rose also saw that Jack had gotten skinnier and looked pale. Rose turned and found Annie helping the other survivors. Rose looked at Jack once more, then called Annie over.

"Yes, Rose?" Annie asked. She saw that Jack had woken up. "Well, I see that Jack has awakened."

"Yes." Rose smiled. "And I believe that he needs to have a nice hot dinner and something to drink."

"Oh, yes. Of course," Annie said. "How foolish of me. I’ll be right back, Rose." Rose smiled and watched Annie go to a separate room to get Jack his dinner. Rose turned back to him and saw that he had a perplexed look on his face.

"That was Annabelle Johnson. She’s a volunteer nurse here. She lives in New York, and we became friends instantly." Rose told Jack. "She lives in an apartment and told me that we could live in her apartment with her." Jack smiled.

"So, you wanna live with her?" Jack asked.

"Well, if her apartment building has an apartment for rent, I was hoping that we could rent it," Rose said. "Besides, we have enough money to do so."

"What?" Jack asked. "How?" Rose sighed.

"Well, Cal came here earlier this morning," Rose said.

"What?" Jack exclaimed, managing to sit upright.

"Don’t worry," Rose said. "We won’t see him again." Jack had a perplexed look on his face. "You see, he came down here to take me back to first class, but he failed. I told him that the engagement was off, and he told me that he loved me. I, on the other hand, didn’t love him, and knew that he didn’t love me the way you do." Jack looked at her lovingly. "Even though you had never told me before, I knew you loved me. Deep down, I knew that you were the right one for me." Rose smiled, and Jack smiled back. "So, then I went back here to be with you and talk to you, even though you were unconscious. Then I realized that he had followed me. I was going to protest, but he said that he had five stacks of twenty dollar bills in the coat pockets, along with the Heart of the Ocean. He said that I could keep them, so I don’t have to live in the streets when we dock."

"So, you’re telling me that Caledon Hockley actually gave you money and the Heart of the Ocean to keep?" Jack asked. Rose just nodded.

"I hadn’t actually checked, but I’ll show you," Rose said, digging into the pockets and taking out five stacks of twenty dollar bills. She placed her hand in her left coat pocket, from which she took out the Heart of the Ocean. The heavy necklace shone in the light. She saw Jack’s eyes widen.

"Holy shit," Jack said, taking the necklace. "I never really expected Cal to let you have this after you dumped him." Jack examined the jewel as he had the last time he saw it. The last time he had held this jewel, Rose had asked him to draw her nude. He knew that the drawing was now at the bottom of the Atlantic, and that he would never see it again, but the memory was still fresh in his mind. A small smile played upon his lips as he handed Rose the necklace. "So, you’re gonna keep it?"

"Of course," Rose said, placing the necklace back inside the pocket, along with the money.

Jack stared at Rose with sad eyes. Did she want to keep the necklace for the memory of Cal? Did she want to keep it so she could remember how her life had been in first class? Jack was confused. Didn’t she love him? She had said so earlier, but why did she want to keep the necklace? He ran his fingers through his tangled hair and sighed. Rose must’ve read his mind, because she gave a small laugh.

"You’re probably thinking that I’m keeping the Heart of the Ocean so I can remember Cal. Is that why you think I kept this necklace?" Rose asked. She saw him nod slightly. "Silly, I’m keeping it for the memory of us when you drew me and when we…made love." Rose smiled. She could still feel his body against hers and his artistic hands on her body. She was glad that she had saved her virginity, because if she hadn’t, Cal would’ve seduced her before Jack had.

Rose saw Annie bring Jack’s dinner towards him and place it in his lap. Jack, still feeling weak, ate slowly and chewed slowly. His arm began to feel tired, and he accidentally dropped his fork. Rose smiled and picked up the fork. She cleaned it with the napkin and handed it back to Jack, who thanked her.

"Would you like me to help you?" Rose asked. Jack slowly nodded. Rose smiled and took the fork from him, beginning to feed him mashed potatoes and pieces of meat. She watched as he chewed, slowly but hungrily. When ten minutes had passed, Rose had finished feeding Jack his dinner, and she placed the tray on the table. She took the cup of orange juice and brought it to Jack’s mouth, who slowly drank it, relishing the taste of the liquid. When he had drunk the juice, Rose placed the cup on the tray and held Jack’s hand, smiling.

"Feel better?" Rose asked lovingly.

"Much better." Jack smiled. Just then, the doctor arrived, checking on the survivors. When he came up to Jack, he was surprised.

"I see that you have woken up," the doctor said, placing his hand over Jack’s forehead. "You don’t have a fever and show no signs of a cold. Funny, usually people who have hypothermia end up having pneumonia. You, on the other hand, are as healthy as if nothing had happened you." He checked Jack over. "I must say, you have someone watching over you." Jack smiled, and so did Rose. Once the doctor left, Rose threw her arms around Jack’s neck as tears fell down her cheeks.

"Oh, Jack," Rose said, breaking away from the hug. "It’s a miracle that you’re alive. It’s a miracle that you didn’t die that night. It’s a miracle that I have you instead of Cal." Rose held Jack’s hand, kissing it lovingly. Jack pulled her closer and brought her lips to his, bringing her into a kiss full of love and care. Rose wrapped her arms around him, knowing that she’d be safe and loved if she stayed with Jack.

Chapter Seven
Stories